Filipino U.S. Navy vet’s box of memories found in Maryland attic

Armando Custodio, born in 1908, spent more than three decades in the U.S. Navy. A box of memorabilia that belonged to him was found in an attic in Maryland.

SAN FRANCISCO–A box of World War II memorabilia found in a Laurel, Maryland, attic was traced to a Filipino immigrant who served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years and returned to his family last Veterans’ Day.

Less than 48 hours after the box of mementos was found in the attic of a District Heights home and turned over by the homeowner the Laurel Police Department, the box and its contents were traced to Amando Custodio, who was born in 1908, and returned to his daughter, Rita Shane.

Shane and two of Custodio’s grandchildren came to the police station to pick up the box filled with Amando’s naturalization papers, a war ration book and dozens of photos and letters. Police said there were pictures of a woman believed to be his wife and his daughter, Rita, as a small girl.

Shane said her father was a steward while in the Navy and that he loved being in the service. The memorabilia fills in some blanks, said Shane, and the she couldn’t wait to read Custodio’s love letter to her mother.

Police pieced together that Custodio was born in 1908, immigrated to the United States from the Philippines and was in the Navy. They ran a computer search on Custodio’s name, which showed up in the record from the Truman Library of him being on board the USS Williamsburg, which was Harry Truman’s presidential yacht.

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Armando Custodio’s box of memorabilila